Baseball and Softball Retrieval Device

ABSTRACT

A ball retrieval device configured to receive one or more balls from a surface. The ball retrieval device comprises a housing including a first end for receiving one or more balls from a surface and a second end for dispensing said one or more balls from said housing. The ball retrieval device further comprises a retention assembly attached to the first end comprising (a) an expanded foot attached to first end of said housing and graduating in diameter from the first end to the base of said expanded foot; and (b) an interchangeable rubber cap fitted and secured over or into the base of said expanded foot.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date of theprior-filed provisional application No. 61/276,031, filed Sep. 9, 2009.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

The application relates to a device for retrieving balls and otherspherical objects from a surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A variety of devices exist for retrieving balls from a surface. Typicaldevices include a tubular housing having a diameter approximating thediameter of the balls to be retrieved. Balls are received at an open endand retained within the tubular housing and/or an enclosure attached atthe opposite end. Typically, a one-way retention assembly is affixed atan open end allowing balls to enter the tubular housing but not exit outthrough that same open end. The design of such retention assemblies areoften dictated by the type of ball being retrieved. While retrievingballs from a surface inherently place demands on a retention assembly,balls with significant weight and/or diameter can make satisfying thosedemands unattainable. Such demands may include a level of accuracynecessary to direct the balls into an open end, a level of applied forcenecessary to push the balls through the retention assembly, an amount ofwear on the balls caused by the retention assembly over time, an amountof wear on the retention assembly caused by the balls over time, anincreasing amount of weight attempting to push the balls back throughthe one-way retention assembly as more balls are retained within theretrieval device, and a level of variance in weight and/or diameterbetween balls of a same or different type as would be expected with amix of old and new balls, regular vs. training balls, or balls made bydifferent manufacturers. Unfortunately, no known devices exist thatsufficiently address all these demands related to balls with significantweight and/or diameter such as baseballs, softballs, and relatedtraining balls.

A device is desired that can retrieve and retain balls havingsignificant weight and/or diameter while minimizing the accuracyrequired to direct the balls into an open end, minimizing the appliedforce required to push the balls through the retention assembly,minimizing the amount of wear on the balls caused by the retentionassembly over time, minimizing the amount of wear on the retentionassembly caused by the balls over time, ability to support theincreasing weight attempting to push the balls back through the one-wayretention assembly, and ability to support variance in weight and/ordiameter between balls of a same or different type.

SUMMARY

The present application is directed to a ball retrieval devicecomprising: a tubular housing including a first end for receiving one ormore balls from a surface and a second end for dispensing said one ormore balls from said housing; and a retention assembly attached to thefirst end, said retention assembly comprising (a) an expanded footattached to the first end of said housing and graduating in diameterfrom the housing to the base of said expanded foot; (b) aninterchangeable rubber cap fitted and secured over or into the base ofsaid expanded foot having a center-cut hole through which a ball isretrieved from a surface.

The present application is also directed to a method of retrieving andretaining one or more balls from a surface, the method comprising thefollowing steps: providing a ball retrieval device comprising (1) atubular housing comprising a first end for receiving one or more ballsand a second end for dispensing one or more balls; and (2) a retentionassembly attached to the first end of said housing, said retentionassembly comprising (a) an expanded foot attached to the first end ofsaid housing and graduating in diameter from said housing to the base ofsaid expanded foot; (b) an interchangeable rubber cap fitted and securedover or into the base of said expanded foot having a center-cut holethrough which a ball is retrieved from a surface; positioning saidretention assembly over a single ball and applying force as necessary topush the ball through said center-cut hole; retrieving one or more ballsfrom a surface in like fashion, thus stacking the balls inside saidhousing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the device.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a first end of an embodimentof the device including a retention assembly attached thereto. Depictedalso is a ball properly aligned with the center-cut hole through whichit is to pass through.

FIG. 2B illustrates a section view of a first embodiment of aninterchangeable rubber cap taken along the B-B line in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a first end of an embodiment ofthe device including a retention assembly attached thereto. Depictedalso is a ball misaligned with the center-cut hole through which it isto pass through.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the device andretaining multiple balls within its tubular housing.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the retentionassembly depicting the ease by which the interchangeable rubber cap maybe changed or replaced on the extended foot.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been observed that a ball retrieval device, including a tubularhousing and a retention assembly comprised of an expanded foot andinterchangeable rubber cap, can be configured to receive and retainballs having significant weight and/or diameter. It has also beenobserved that a ball retrieval device, including a tubular housing and aretention assembly comprised of an expanded foot and interchangeablerubber cap, can be configured to receive and retain one or more ballswith a varying weight and/or diameter. This configuration so adequatelyaddresses the general demands of retrieving balls from a surface, andadditionally, those demands specific to retrieving balls withsignificant weight and/or diameter, the ball retrieval device of thisinvention thus satisfies the requirements of patentability and thereforerepresents a patentable idea.

The term “ball” is defined herein as a spherical object that is eitherperfectly round or substantially round. A ball referred to herein may ormay not refer to those spherical objects common to many sports, athleticevents, or games.

In one regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to receive one or more balls at a first retrieving endand configured to empty the one or more balls at a second dispensingend.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to receive and retain balls that vary in weight and/ordiameter.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to receive and retain a multiplicity of ballspotentially made up of varying weights and/or diameters.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to be held by the user with a predominately verticalorientation when receiving one or more balls from a surface.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice that is free-standing when left unattended on a predominatelylevel surface whether containing zero or more balls.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to serve as a transportable storage compartment forone or more balls.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to be operated by use of a single hand of the user'schoice, wherein said hand is placed on top of the device.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to provide an extended and concave surface area makingit easier for the user to direct a ball into the receiving end of thedevice.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to minimize the applied force required by the userwhen retrieving a ball from a surface.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to optimize the variation of balls, varying in weightand/or diameter, which may be retrieved by the device.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to minimize the wear on the balls being retrievedcaused by the retention assembly over time.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to minimize the wear on the retention assembly causedby the balls being retrieved over time.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to optimize the capacity of the retention assembly tohold the increasing weight of balls as they are retrieved and retainedinside the device.

In another regard, the present application relates to a ball retrievaldevice configured to prolong the life of the retrieval device by makingthe retention assembly easily replaceable.

The ball retrieval device according to the present application will befurther described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in thedrawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only and are notintended to limit the invention as defined in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 discloses a ball retrieval device comprising at least a tubularhousing 3 and a retention assembly 4, 5 attached to a first end of thetubular housing 3. Optionally, the ball retrieval device may furthercomprise a handle 2 attached to the second end of the tubular housing 3that is configured to be held by a user for carrying and/or operatingthe ball retrieval device.

The tubular housing 3 is defined as a hollow tube and comprises a firstopen end 6, i.e., a retrieving end, and a second open end 1, i.e., adispensing end.

The length of the tubular housing 3 may vary depending on the desirednumber of balls 7 of a particular diameter to be retrieved and retainedinside the tubular housing 3. In one embodiment, the tubular housing 3comprises a length from thirty-two inches up to sixty inches. A lengthof approximately thirty-two inches is found to be advantageous when theball type to be retrieved is a baseball, allowing the entire ballretrieval device to retain twelve to thirteen balls and to fitconveniently in a standard bat bag during transport to and frompractice. This number of baseballs retained in the tubular housing 3also seems optimal for operating as the device starts getting heavy asmore balls are retained.

Although it is contemplated herein that the ball retrieval device beconfigured to retain baseballs, requiring an inner diameter of thetubular housing 3 be about three inches, or to retain softballs,requiring an inner diameter of the tubular housing 3 be about fourinches, it is within the scope of this application to retain other balltypes such as is used for baseball or softball training, or such as isused in other sports such as croquet, bocce, tennis, cricket, and thelike.

The tubular housing 3 may be constructed of any suitable materialincluding but not limited to plastics, rubbers, fiberglass, aluminum orthe like. In one embodiment the tubular housing 3 is comprised of vinylpolymers and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The wall thickness of such PVC isapproximately 0.070 inches for that used for baseballs and approximately0.075 inches for that used for softballs.

In one embodiment the handle 2 contemplated is that of a thin rubberedging to be applied using adhesive to the dispensing end 1 to providecomfort to the user's hand while operating the device. The thickness ofthis rubber edging would be 0.1250 inches and width would be 0.3750inches.

The expanded foot 4 functions as an adapter, graduating the innerdiameter of the tubular housing 3 from three inches to four inches in anembodiment configured for baseballs and from four inches to five inchesin an embodiment configured for 12″ softballs.

The expanded foot 4 may be constructed of any suitable materialincluding but not limited to plastics, rubbers, fiberglass, aluminum orthe like. In one embodiment the expanded foot 4 is comprised of vinylpolymers and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The wall thickness of such PVC isapproximately 0.070 inches for that used for baseballs and approximately0.075 inches for that used for 12″ softballs.

The interchangeable rubber cap 5 functions as a retention member, havinga center-cut hole with an approximate diameter of 2.75 inches forbaseballs and 3.5 inches for 12″ softballs. In one embodiment thethickness of the rubber cap is ¼ inches for that used for both baseballsand softballs.

A user of the ball retrieval device illustrated in FIG. 1 and hereindescribed would grip the device by its handle 2, position the devicevertically over a ball 7 so as to align it with the opening at theretrieving end 6, then push with applied force onto the ball causing itto pass through the center-cut hole in the interchangeable rubber cap 5thus retrieving and retaining the ball from a surface.

FIG. 2A best illustrates the unique qualities of the invention underconsideration in the current application. The rubber cap 2 has beenexpanded to a size greater than the diameter of the tubular housing 1 asseen and described in FIG. 1 how the expanded foot 4 functions as anadapter to increase the diameter at the base of the device. Therefore,referring again to FIG. 2A, the rubber cap now has sufficient surfacearea at its base 6 to allow the rubber to flex as the ball 5 passesthrough the center-cut hole 4.

To further illustrate FIG. 2B shows how the rubber is free to flexacross the entire surface area 1 of the rubber cap. This flex is crucialto satisfy the demands herein described for retrieving balls havingsignificant weight and/or diameter. By allowing room for the elasticityof the rubber material to have its full effect, the friction caused bythe ball passing through the hole is greatly reduced thus minimizing theamount of applied force required by the user when pushing down on theball.

Furthermore, this reduced friction minimizes the wear on both the balland the rubber cap.

Furthermore, because the flex of the rubber cap is optimized this allowsuse of a much thicker rubber cap. In one embodiment, this rubber has athickness of ¼ inch. By employing such a thick rubber cap, the weightcapacity of the rubber cap greatly increases. In one embodiment, arubber cap can effectively hold the weight of more than twenty ballsgiven an elongated tubular housing. As depicted in FIG. 4, this weightcapacity is what allows the rubber cap 3 to easily hold back multipleballs 2 within its tubular housing 1.

Furthermore, because the flex of the rubber cap is optimized andtherefore allows use of a much thicker rubber cap, referring again toFIG. 2A, the diameter of the center-cut hole 4 can be much smaller thanthe diameter of the ball to be retrieved 5 since the rubber will flex toallow the ball to pass through with relative ease. Therefore, by makingthe hole small the rubber cap is able to retrieve a larger array ofballs having different diameters. For instance, a hole having a diameterof 2.75 inches is capable of retrieving balls with diameters rangingfrom about 2.75 inches to over 3 inches.

Furthermore, the increased surface area 7 minimizes the level ofaccuracy required by the user when positioning the retrieving end 4 overa ball. Additionally, FIG. 3 depicts how the concave surface 1surrounding the center-cut hole 2 helps to guide the ball 3 into saidhole 2.

FIG. 5 depicts how the rubber cap 3 is interchangeable and/orreplaceable. Because of the natural quality of rubber to exert grip onthe objects contacting it, the rubber cap 3 can be fitted and securedover or into the extended foot 2 without the use of adhesive. Regardlessof the material and/or mechanism used to retrieve and retain balls froma surface, it is accepted that eventually that material and/or mechanismwill wear out. Therefore, by making the rubber cap easily replaceablethe life of the entire retrieval device can be prolonged.

Furthermore, by making the rubber cap 3 easily interchangeable it ispossible to manufacture rubber caps with center-cut holes having varyingdiameters so that the user can quickly interchange the rubber capdepending on the diameter of the balls to be retrieved at a given time.

1. A ball retrieval device comprising: a tubular housing including afirst end for receiving one or more balls from a surface and a secondend for dispensing said one or more balls from said tubular housing; anda retention assembly attached to said first end comprising (a) anexpanded foot attached to said first end and graduating in diameter fromsaid first end to the base of said expanded foot; and (b) aninterchangeable rubber cap fitted and secured over or into the base ofsaid expanded foot.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said expanded footis tubular.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said expanded foot includes(a) a first end having an opening with a diameter equaling the diameterof said first end of tubular housing, and (b) a second end having anopening with a diameter exceeding the diameter of said first end oftubular housing.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein said interchangeablerubber cap has a center-cut hole through which balls are received intosaid tubular housing.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein saidinterchangeable rubber cap is fitted and secured over or into said baseof expanded foot not requiring use of adhesion to secure it while inuse.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein said interchangeable rubber caphas a concave surface surrounding said center-cut hole, said surfacelocated on the side facing the ball as it is retrieved from a surface.7. A method of retrieving and retaining one or more balls from asurface, the method comprising the following steps: providing a ballretrieval device comprising (1) a tubular housing comprising a first endfor receiving one or more balls and a second end for dispensing one ormore balls; and (2) a retention assembly attached to the first end ofsaid tubular housing, said retention assembly comprising (a) an expandedfoot attached to the first end of said tubular housing and graduating indiameter from said first end to the base of said expanded foot; (b) aninterchangeable rubber cap fitted and secured over or into the base ofsaid expanded foot and having a center-cut hole; positioning saidretention assembly over a ball and applying necessary force to push theball through said center-cut hole; retrieving one or more balls from asurface in like fashion, thus stacking two or more balls inside saidtubular housing.
 8. A ball retention assembly comprising: a housingincluding a first end for receiving one or more balls from a surface anda second end for dispensing said one or more balls from said housing;and a rubber cap fitted and secured over or into the base of said firstend for receiving one or more balls from a surface.
 9. The assembly ofclaim 8 wherein said rubber cap may be fitted and secured over or intosaid first end of housing not requiring use of adhesion to secure itwhile in use.
 10. The assembly of claim 8 wherein said housing can be ofany size or shape.